


Dog Days of Hazbin

by TheSids



Series: The Big Bad Radio Demon [1]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Asexual Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Fluff, Gen, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24573625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSids/pseuds/TheSids
Summary: Charlie is followed home by a lost hellhound puppy and decides to bring it into the hotel until the parents are found. Alastor is less than thrilled by this development.
Series: The Big Bad Radio Demon [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776730
Comments: 72
Kudos: 197





	1. Chapter 1

Charlie peeked her head out of the alley, warrily glancing about the streets. She'd left the hotel earlier that morning to buy groceries, only to be bombarded by sneering demons mockingly asking about the lack of patrons in the hotel. She'd only barely managed to lose them. She sighed, wishing she'd taken up Alastor's offer to accompany her, it at least would have deterred most of the demons.

Speaking of Alastor, she needed to get back to the hotel before another incident occurred in her absence. Last time Vaggie and Angel dust had gotten into a fight in the kitchen and it was only because of Al that they didn't accidentally set fire to the building. Charlie headed back, keeping an eye out for any other problem demons. She walked quickly, not wanting to give anyone enough time to approach her.

Halfway back she noted a presence that had been following her for several blocks and picked up her pace. The presence quickened to match. Charlies moved even faster, feeling her horns begin to poke out of her head and her teeth elongate. She ducked into another alley, flattening herself against the farside of a dumpster, body tensed.

A shadow appeared, slowly making its way closer to her hiding spot. Charlie's claws twitched, she counted at least four feet by the pattern of the footsteps, it was not a very big demon if the soft steps were anything to go by. Charlie held her breath, before she leapt out preparing to face the no doubt savage, dangerous….puppy?

Charlie blinked once, twice. Yep, that was a puppy. The little scrap blinked as well for a moment before leaping forward, yapping excitedly, its tail a blur. Charlie's face could barely contain the smile that spread on her face, she crouched down, squealing from the adorable hellpuppy as it bounced around her, attempting to lick her face. She picked her up, the puppy was clearly hellborn if its red sclera and white irises were anything to go by. Hellhounds were usually born similar to regular earth puppys, slowly becoming more anthropomorphic the older they got.

The puppy was stocky with droopy jowls. She was covered in sleek black fur with brown on her muzzle, belly, and paws, along with a brown dot above each eye. Charlie realized someone would be looking for it. Despite hell being filled with less than favorable characters someone would definitely be worried about the scrap.

"Don't worry," Charlie cooed gently, continuing her way back with the puppy in tow, "I'll help you get back to your family."

The puppy seemed to brighten at her words, or perhaps it was just her optimistic imagination. She barked and wriggled in her arms. Charlie cooed and babbled at her until she reached the hotel.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Vaggie seethed with rage, spear in hand as she glared down at the offending spider who was currently stretched out on the couch. Husk lay unconscious at the bar, a semi-empty bottle of booze in his claws. Nifty scrambled around him, cleaning the bar counter.

"Oh, come on," Angel Dust whined, "marijuana is hardly even a drug ta begin with. It's like comparing grape juice ta wine."

"You're supposed to be going clean, Angel Dust," Vaggie retorted, "I don't care if you're drinking caffeine, a drug is a drug."

Angel rolled his mismatched eyes, "So what, I can't drink coffee now? What's next, gum?"

"Oh, you just wait until Charlie hears about this you-"

"Wait until Charlie hears what?"

All four demons turned their gazes upon the princess of hell then immediately to the puppy nestled in her arms. The silence was promptly broken by a high pitched squeal. Angel Dust hopped off the couch and quickly crossed the room, all four arms stretched towards the hellpuppy, a wide grin on the spider's face.

"Who is this?" He cooed. The puppy immediately hopped into his arms. Angel lifted her and nuzzled her belly. She squealed in excitement.

Charlie watched him with a soft smile, "I don't know; she followed me home. I thought she could stay at the hotel until we could find her parents."

Vaggie frowned, "Are you sure that's a good idea, hun?"

Charlie turned her infamous doe-eyed gaze towards her girlfriend, "Please Vaggie, it's only for a few days, just until we find her parents."

"Besides," Angel Dust added, "even a cold-hearted bitch like you can't say no ta such an adorable baby, oh yes you are, oh yes~"

Vaggie shot him a glare, ready to give him a peace of her mind when the puppy turned to her with large eyes, her pale irises did not thwart the power of her puppy-eyes. Vaggie's gaze flitted between Angel and Charlie before she finally sighed. "I guess she could stay for awhile-"

"Who, pray tell, is staying here? Hopefully someone better than our present company!" Alastor called as he entered the room, the last comment clearly aimed at Angel.

The three jumped at the loud interruption behind them. They all turned, looking unwittingly guilty, their positions hiding the hellpuppy from Alastor's line of sight.

Charlie saved them from further awkwardness, "Oh, it's you, Al.We have a little guest for a few days, I hope you don't mind."

Alastor's smile, if possible, widened. He approached quickly, looming over the group. "New guest you say, why would I mind? I simply must meet the dear, where are they?"

Angel Dust held out the puppy, "This is Bella!" He exclaimed proudly.

Vaggie's eyes narrowed, "You can't just name someone else's child, _tonto_."

"I dunno what the hell toto means, but till we find the real parents she needs a name, and I say we call her Bella." The newly dubbed "Bella" seemed to yap in agreement.

"You can't just do that! Look how young she is, what if she thinks that's her real name."

"Well, itsa a damn good one, anyway."

"God, Angel, you're such an a-"

"Woah, woah," Charlie interjected nervously, "let's all calm down. I think it's okay to give her a name for the time being, after all we can't just call her puppy, right Vaggie?" Vaggie muttered a reluctant agreement. "Besides, Bella isn't the worst name, right Al?"

Everyone turned to look at the Radio Demon who hadn't moved since Angel Dust had thrust Bella into his face. Alastor always had some form of movement going on with him, whether it be fiddling with his microphone stand or talking at five hundred words per second. Right at that moment he was completely and utterly still, his ears straight and perked towards the pup, and his shoulder tensed. His smile, though it usually stretched nearly from ear to ear, had grown until it looked painful to hold, yet strangely enough, he seemed to be grimacing. His red eyes glowed brightly while his pupils were mere slits.

"Alastor?" Charlie tried again.

"Yes, my dear?" Alastor answered, not taking his eyes off of Bella, who was currently attempting to escape Angel's grasp so she could get to him.

"Are you cool with Bella staying here?"

Alastor seemed to break out of his trance immediately giving her a crushing side hug, "Why of course, dear! Your darling little, _Bella,_ " Charlie could have sworn there was a snarl in his voice, "is welcome to stay as long as she needs."

With that he straightened, called his microphone stand, and stiffly made his way out, but not before letting out a loud feedback, scaring poor Husk from his stupor.

"What the hell, Alastor!?" The cat spat. He glowered at the rest of the group, eyes eventually landing on Bella. "The fuck is that thing doing here?"

Charlie kept her smile up, "This is Bella, she'll be staying awhile, Al already agreed."

Husk snorted, barely able to hide his laughter, " _Alastor_ agreed? He- Oh Ho Hahaha, h-he." He fell back howling in laughter, "oh that's rich!"

Angel Dust frowned, "Am I the only one who doesn't get what's goin' on?"

Husk slowly calmed, still giggling, "Oh, you'll see soon enough, trust me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Here she is:


	2. Chapter 2

To say Alastor was afraid of dogs would be complete and utter nonsense. Alastor had no fear of dogs, thank you very much. Perhaps he felt a tad bit of discomfort around them. Perhaps their very presence made his skin crawl and the bite scars beneath his clothing itch. However, to place these feelings as fear was preposterous; it was nothing but simple disdain. The little mongrel Charlie had brought back a few days prior did not affect his day to day life; no sir, and he had most certainly not been avoiding the mini monster.

It was eventually decided that the mutt would stay in Angel Dust's room during night time since, despite the porn star's crude and often immature behavior, he already showed a surprising amount of responsibility with his own pet pig, Fat Nuggets, and was far more than happy to have an excuse to spend more time with the hound. The mutt and Fat Nuggets had hit it off right off the bat and often spent their time running amuck through the hotel. Poor Niffty was close to a major freak out with how much dog hair and slobber she kept encountering. In Alastor's opinion the dog was clearly bringing down the appeal of the hotel.

It was certainly not irritation for the thing that he felt as he aggressively chopped onions in the kitchen, ignoring his shadow as it smirked knowingly at him. There was no animosity even though he could hear the two animals romping through the foyer. With Charlie out with Vaggie and Angel Dust putting up lost hellpuppy posters, Husk most likely unconscious at the bar despite it not even being evening-time, and Niffty being…. Niffty that left him as the only semi-responsible person at the hotel, and unofficial puppy and pig-sitter.

Yup, he was perfectly fine, in control as always. Besides, the dog would be up and out of his hair in no time considering how seriously Charlie was taking her personal mission. For once, he hoped she succeeded. He could wait, he’d only be alone with the creatures for a few hours. In the meantime, Alastor flipped on the radio and hummed along to some smooth jazz as he worked on that night’s dinner. This was _fine_.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella ricocheted off the wall and sailed over Fat Nuggets’s head, barely escaping his attempt to tag her. She bolted through the lobby, barking mockingly as the pig let out a frustrated squeal at yet another failed attempt to get at her. She turned her head over her shoulder to stick her tongue out at him, only to face plant into a wall. Fat Nuggets paused his chase to squeal in a pig form of laughter, Bella pouted at him then snarled at the offending wall. 

She opened her mouth to give the wall a piece of her mind only to freeze at a strange sound coming from the doorway beside it. It actually sounded quite nice, she could only describe it as smooth and calming. There was also a delicious smell wafting from the room the door led to. The curious pup stuck her head into the doorway to see a tall man, who wore an almost over-bearing amount of red, standing over a pot on the stove where the smells and sounds were coming from. Bella soon recognized him as the man she had seen the first day she’d arrived. She hadn’t had the chance to truly meet him since then and there was no time like the present.

Bella rushed forward, a friendly bark in her throat, when Fat Nuggets nearly shrieked in alarm and roughly pulled her back by her tail, stopping when they were under the loveseat. Bella turned on him snapping in rage, only for him to interrupt with his best explanation. Bella quite frankly, did not speak pig very well. She could understand other non-demon animals but quite marginally. What she did understand was:

_Danger! Red Man. Danger! Kill. Eat. Avoid_

So either he was telling her the man would be dangerous and to either kill, eat, or avoid him; or, he would kill and eat them and she should avoid. It was probably the latter. Bella huffed and rolled her pale eyes. She was a hellhound for Lucifer’s sake. She could deal with any demon, like her parents had, it wasn’t as if he could kill her...right? She stood and puffed out her chest, doing her best to tell the pig that she would protect him from the dangerous Red Man, by making friends with him.

Ignoring his pleas, Bella rushed forward with renewed purpose. She stepped confidently into the kitchen and barked to get the man’s attention.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alastor stiffened, pausing mid-stir, silently hopping, close to praying, that he did not just hear what he knew he just heard. He stared up at his shadow, which stared down by his feet. He slowly looked down to see the mutt itself gazing up at him, its dim-witted gaze wide with innocent trust. The radio short-circuited, cutting off his music and leaving the two in awkward silence interrupted every so often by a pop of static. 

The dog leapt up and barked once more. He jolted as an emotion he couldn’t quite place struck through him like lightning. He dropped his spoon into the gumbo. He called his microphone stand and roughly began to shove the dog towards the door he had stupidly left open.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella’s brow furrowed in confusion as she was pushed. She could smell fear in the man. Of what, she was not sure. It certainly wasn’t towards her. Who could be afraid of her? Perhaps a game would calm him. Tug of War perhaps? Oh, she could definitely play that! She leapt up and grabbed the end of the long stick, growling playfully.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alastor pulled his stand back, surprised, as the mutt chewed and slobbered all over it. The stupid thing evidently couldn’t take a hint and chased after it, and by association, came closer to him. Without thinking, he struck out his foot, barely missing it as it dodged with an alarming amount of skill. Off-balance he accidentally dropped his stand and was soon forced back. He hopped back on one foot, kicking at the dog who dodged and weaved, clearly having some sort of sick pleasure in making him dance. His shadow was certainly enjoying the show as it watched as unhelpful as ever.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella was having the time of her life. She’d never played this kick-dodging game before. She was pretty sure she was doing very well as the man seemed to grow more frantic to knock her back. She finally managed to push him against the side of the stove. She leapt up, latching onto his coat, and grinned in exhilaration as her body was thrown to and fro, her teeth never leaving the fabric.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If Alastor was a lesser man he would have screamed. He leapt. He reached. He thrashed. He tried anything and everything to get the damn mutt off of him. In his panic his elbow hit the pot of gumbo, luckily only pushing it back on the stove, unluckily catching his sleeve on fire. Ear-splitting feedback pierced the room. Al finally managed to regain some of his wits and flung his coat, dog attached and still on fire, off of him. 

He leaned against the wall. He was okay. He had no fear. He was _not trembling_ . _There was no sick feeling in his stomach. He was fine. He was fine. He was-_

_Humiliated_

How dare it. How _dare_ this...this _thing_ make a fool out of him. Oh, he was going to make sure it knew exactly who it was messing with. 

He stalked slowly across the room, eyes radio dials. His shadow moved in front of him, grabbing the dog, who now proudly held up a ripped piece of his coat. Alastor picked up the knife he was using earlier and pointed it at the dog. Symbols floating in the air, which the stupid animal batted at.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella was a bit slow to notice that there was a knife being pointed in her direction. She only turned her head at a voice that sounded like a radio getting a bad signal.

“ _You_.”

_Me?_

“If you think you can just enter this place, _my place_ , and make a fool out of me, I’m afraid that you are sorely mistaken.”

_What?_

“You, vermin, are quite lucky Charlie has taken a shine to you; else I would have taken care of you the moment you entered.”

A common misconception was that hellhound puppies, since they looked like dogs, couldn’t really understand much speech. Bella might have been a bit naive, but she was still hellborn, and pure innocence had no place in hell. She knew when she was being threatened. Rage bubbled in her chest, how dare he, after she had tried so hard to make friends, how dare. She came here to have a good time and she was literally being attacked for it.

She blinked up at him seemingly innocent, realizing that his fear was most definitely of her. Everyone here seemed to like her, aside from the Red Man of course. That was okay. She could work with that. She wasn’t as stupid as he thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Al and Bella's Relationship in a nutshell:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done. Side note: Bella is so fun to draw, I may end up sketching a sheet of my head canon on how hellborn hellhounds work if anyone is interested. I also added a pic of Bella on the previous chapter, so check that out.


	3. Chapter 3

Vaggie had had it up to here with Angel Dust’s incessant whining. 

_Why do I gotta come? My feet hurt. It’s too hot for this. Didn’t we already go through this area? Fat Nuggets is gonna go hungry at this rate. Can we hurry up? I’m thirsty._

Charlie, bless her non-existent heart, took it all in stride, calmly answering his every complaint and continuing to insist that helping out would help towards his redemption. Charlie may ironically have the patience of a saint, but if Vaggie heard one more word out of the eight foot tall imbécil she was going to lose it. Vaggie and Angel waited outside a shady looking store while Charlie went in to ask the owner if she could post her signs on his windows.

“What-”

That was it.

Vaggie whipped around, calling her spear to hand and pointed it under his chin, “Shut. Up.” She grinded out, “You irritating, infuriating, idiotic excuse for an adult. We will leave when we leave. Your pig is fINE. NO WE HAVE NOT PASSED THROUGH THIS AREA. AND IF I HEAR ONE MORE WORD OUT OF YOU, TE ARRANCARÉ TUS BRAZOS EXTRA Y TE AMARRARE CON ELLOS! ”

Angel Dust looked more annoyed than threatened and batted away her spear, looking across the street, “ Relax toots, what I was gonna say was: What is Fat Nuggets doing here?”

Vaggie turned in time to see the little pig cross the road and hop up against Angel’s legs, squealing loudly. The spider lifted him up, frowning, “I missed ya too Nug Nugs, but you really shouldn’t be out in tha street without me.”

Fat Nuggets continued his constant squealing, wiggling out of his grasp, pacing back and forth, pointing with his nose northward. Angel furrowed his brow, nodding, looking more serious than Vaggie had ever seen. Considering his behaviour, that wasn’t much of a feat.

Finally, he spoke, “So, whatcha saying is that there’s trouble back at the hotel between Bella and Al and we need to come back pronto before somethin’ bad happens?”

The pig nodded.

Vaggie had not gotten any of that. “Wait, wait, wait,” she waved her hands, “how did you understand any of that?”

Angel Dust huffed, insulted, “Nuggs and I have known each other longer than you’ve been in hell, I know my pig.”

Usually, she would be suspicious but the situation seemed just a little too strange for her to question. While she internally tried to make sense of whatever strange communication she had just witnessed Angel had gone in and brought Charlie outside, quickly explaining the situation. She tried to assure him, saying that even Alastor wouldn’t bring harm to an innocent little puppy. Angel was not convinced. With that, they immediately rushed back to the hotel, hoping nothing went wrong in their absence.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alastor paused as he heard the entrance door to the hotel close and the tell-tale click of Angel Dust’s boots. He put down the knife, replaced his coat with a snap of his fingers while also getting rid of the ruined one, and made his way out of the kitchen, dog in tow. 

Angel Dust nearly ran into him as he exited the kitchen. Alastor didn’t like the suspicious, concerned glare the spider was throwing at him. He expected that look from Vaggie or Husk, not Angel. His shadow appeared beside him and thrust the dog into the spider’s chest.

“It would be in your best interest to keep your _things_ away from me.” Alastor hissed slowly, his smile straining his face. “Dinner will be ready at four, don’t be late.” With that he stalked back into the kitchen, this time remembering to close the door. He made a note to air out the room later. It stank of dog.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Angel Dust sighed with relief as the door closed. Bella seemed uninjured. Charlie, Vaggie, and Nuggets reached him, looking over the puppy. Bella blinked up at them, tail wagging. She hopped out of his arms to go play with Fat Nuggets.

“See,” Charlie said, “I told you he wouldn’t hurt her.” Though she seemed a little too relieved for Angel’s comfort.

He nodded, unable to get rid of the ill feeling in his chest, and the other two went on their way. He eventually decided to make his way back to his room, calling Fat Nuggets and, by extension, Bella to come with him.

Angel Dust's room was a bright pink and white monstrosity, just like the sinner who resided there. A large fluffy, pink rug resided in the center. A queen sized canopy bed with heart frames was in the corner with translucent, sparkly curtains. Across from it on the other wall was a full length vanity mirror and next to that was another smaller mirror connected to a desk. On the farthest wall was a curved loveseat. Fairy lights lined the ceiling. Wigs and drag outfits he planned on using in the near future sat out on display on mannequins modelled after himself. His more explicit possessions had been put away after Charlie first visited his room. Fat Nugget's bed sat unused next to his own, since the pig preferred to sleep on his bed instead. 

Angel Dust dramatically collapsed on the bed, groaning as he took the weight off his feet. Bella and Nuggs hopped up beside him. He rolled on his back, laughing as the two fought to clamber over him, and wrapped all six arms around them, thankful nothing had happened to either while he was gone...speaking of which. Angel sat up, much to the others' annoyance. 

He stared down at Bella who easily met his eyes, "Bella, ya gotta be more careful around Al. I know it's hard to believe, but I get tha feelin that he doesn't really like you."

Bella tilted her head and let out a little whine.

"I know right? What kinda weirdo would hate sucha _bella signorina_?"

She barked in agreement.

She and Nuggs nuzzled their sweet little heads under his chin. He dropped dramatically on his back, giggling. The three stayed like that for a long while, enjoying each other's company and the relaxing silence. However, all good things must come to an end.

Angel Dust was pulled from his dozing by a sharp rapping on his door. He grumbled, hating on having to wake the other two. It took awhile for him to get them off as gently as he could manage before he opened the door. Alastor's shadow peered down at him, indicating for him to go downstairs before disappearing. 

Ah, dinner, right.

The residents hadn't had dinner together since the first day Alastor appeared. Charlie had insisted on another one for “team bonding” or some shit like that. Which meant no fighting, no cleaning, no acts of extreme violence, no acts of any violence, and no lewd comments. Everyone was to be on their best behavior and have about as normal a dinner as one could get in hell. Even Husk was expected to turn up relatively sober. All-in-all it was boring and awkward as hell.

Angel Dust let out all the complaints he had in grumbles as he got ready. He set out food for Fat Nuggets and promised to get a doggie bag for Bella before heading out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella watched Angel Dust until he closed the door behind him and his footsteps faded. She hopped down from the bed to Fat Nuggets’s side as he ate and quietly began sharing her plans for the Red Man with him. He listened in relative silence before agreeing to help her, so long as he was kept out of danger. That was fine with her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	4. Chapter 4

Days passed after the incident between Alastor and the mutt, the former taking special care to stay out of the other's way. As much as he tried, it was impossible not to run into the dog unless he wanted to stay in his room all day, which was simply out of the question. As a natural showman, he thrived on constant contact and attention. No feral mutt was going to change that.

He was on his way to Charlie's office to discuss with her ways to advertise the hotel. He was thinking perhaps a nice special on the radio, or perhaps he could cash in on a few of his souls to fix the disaster that had aired on TV two weeks ago. His grin widened slightly as he thought of sticking it to that Killjoy when he revealed who exactly was funding it. Any revenge on one of Vox's souls was a treat indeed. He paused at Charlie's door and knocked rhythmically.

"Come in!"

Alastor opened the door dramatically with a showman's flourish.

"Charlie, my dear, I have big plans for this hotel!" He pulled out a stack of papers from whatever dark abyss he kept his stuff in and started shuffling through them. "Why I'm thinking of going all out, newspaper headlines, radio announcements, ads! We could even get a hold of a channel on the picture show as much as I despise the thing" He took a seat in front of her desk. "You know how I feel about this "modern technology," as I always say, `If it isn't broken, why bother fixing it'? Ha, the younger generations, so enraptured by moving pictures on the screen, not knowing the class of true showmanship. Ah, the pains of today…."

Alastor waited, frowning slightly when she said nothing, in fact, she wasn't even looking at him, her chair was turned to the side and she was bent down like she was picking something up. "...Charlie? Chaaarlie." Was she  _ ignoring _ him? His smile sharpened and a high-pitched whine filled the room. "Dear," he said slowly, "you know how much I abhor being ignored. Bad manners, you know."

Charlie sat up and turned to him, blinking as if she just realized he was there. "Oh, hey Al, didn't see you there!"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

She shrugged helplessly, "Sorry, but how could I ignore this face?"

She held the mongrel in her arms. It yapped and hopped onto the desk, right in front of Alastor's face. He moved a little too quickly against the back of the chair. It explored the desk, sniffing the various papers and pens.

Alastor couldn't quite ease the tension out of his body. He cleared his throat, finally getting Charlie's full attention. He held out his own papers slightly keeping one eye on the dog. "Yes, well, we do need to discuss our options in advertising this hotel. As I said earlier we ca-  _ CHARLIE _ ."

She jerked her attention from the dog  _ again _ . "Yep, totally listening!" She squeaked. She clasped her hands together on the desk and looked him in the eyes. "You have my full attention."

Alastor resisted rolling his eyes and held the papers against the desk, leaning forward. "As I was saying, dear, I have many ideas printed out on-"

The mongrel decided this was the best moment to lung forward and land a big, sloppy, lick on his nose. Ear shattering feedback sliced briefly through the air. Alastor wrenched back. The chair tipped.

**BAM!**

"Alastor!" Charlie rushed to his side, but he'd already picked himself up and scrubbed the slobber away. She looked up at him with concerned doe-eyes, "Al, are you okay?"

Alastor laughed it off. He brushed himself off and ran his hands through his hair so she couldn't see him bristling. "Just peachy, dear, a little tumble, nothing to worry about."

"Are you-"

"Of course I'm sure! As a matter of fact, we can continue right now." All he had to do was ignore the tingling, crawling sensation on his skin, and the remaining drool drying on his face. Yep, just fine. He sat back down and reached for his papers. His papers that were suddenly not there. He slowly looked up. Of course the mutt would take the moment to take his papers, of course. 

Charlie didn't seem to see the problem. "Aww, did you want to give me the papers, precious?"

The dog smiled and held out the papers towards her, tail wagging. Charlie picked it up, cooing, and coddling it, and making Alastor ill to his stomach by watching.

He pushed his chair back to stand, "Perhaps we should continue another time,dear."

She didn't answer, paying more attention to the mutt.

Alastor took his leave.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alastor hummed as he walked down the hall, twirling his microphone and searching for an easy source of entertainment to cool the irritation that tried to make his ears bristle. Charlie had the nerve to ignore him for that thing, ha. It would be funny if it wasn't so annoying. He entered the foyer. He caught sight of the back of a gray head. Vaggie was on the couch. Thank Lucifer. 

"Vagatha!" He cried as he approached, "What a wonderful day we're having! I just had a meeting with Charlie about half an h-" Vaggie had not immediately become wrought with rage at his appearance, as a matter of fact, she hadn't even bothered to turn around. "Vagatha? Oh, Miss Vaggie. Mi-"

"Don't bother with your bullshit today, it won't work" The moth demon answered, though her voice completely lacked its usual venom.

Alastor's smile widened as he made his way around the couch, "Why, Miss Vagatha, whatever do you mean? Am I not permitted to hold a conversation with a beloved-" His eyes fell on a form curled in Vaggie's arms, "....acquaintance."

Vaggie smirked up at him as she ran a hand down the hound's back, "What's the matter Al? I've just been spending some quality time with  _ Bellita _ for a few minutes. She's a good stress reliever, unlike some demons. Why don't we hold a conversation, hmm?"

Alastor's eye twitched, "Well, to each their own, but I'm afraid I must bid you adieu."

He turned back in the direction of his room before he tore the hotel apart. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alastor stalked through the halls. How dare that mutt take not only one, but two of the residents' attention. Irritation bubbled deep in his stomach and he needed an outlet. Something small blurred past him.

“Niffty, my dear!” He called out.

She didn’t look up as she rapidly cleaned the floors, “Sorry boss. Can’t talk. There’s dog hair  _ everywhere.  _ Whew. who knew Bella would shed so much. Anyway, more to clean, gotta go!”

Before he could say another word, she was already gone. So even when the mutt wasn’t physically around it still managed to take the attention of all the residents. Well...almost all of them. He still knew one cranky demon who would both never stand for the presence of a mangy dog and somewhat have the patience to put up with his ranting.

With renewed vigor he made his way to the bar.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alastor could not believe his eyes. Husk not only didn’t mind the dog, but was scratching its belly on the bar counter. He had a rare soft grin on his face as he used his claws with mindful care on the mutt’s stomach. His usually frowning eyes peered down with what Alastor would dare say  _ fondness  _ towards the thing. The dog’s head turned towards him, its pupils narrowed into slit and a forked tongue flicked out. It shot him a grin so smug it made his blood boil. Alastor teleported away before he had the misfortune of seeing anything else.

This time Alastor didn’t care enough to stop the bristling of his hair. This mutt, this thing could have Charlie, it could take Vaggie and Niffty’s attention, he hoped it took Angel Dust’s attention, but not Husk. It could  _ not  _ have his only reliable source of relief. Not Husk.

But...He couldn’t get rid of it until Charlie knew someone wanted it back. How bothersome...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella smugly watched the Red Man disappear in a huff. Excellent. Phase one was complete.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let Husk be happy, Al! Whew, this chapter ended up being extra long so I had to split it. Expect an update very soon. Also, I may just start putting up a drawing for each chapter, but don't hold me up to it. I added a pic to the previous chapter too on request, hope you like!


	5. Chapter 5

According to Fat Nuggets, Angel Dust would be working all that night, and if all the information he had said was true about what was going down that night, then her plan was going to be better than she’d hoped. She’d spent the few days setting up while the Red Man- who she still refused to call by name- had spent the time avoiding her. It only served to make her job easier as all she had to do was spend the most time in places she didn’t want him going into yet. Everything was mostly in place, she mostly just had to move some objects later. What she needed to do now was by far going to be the hardest, since she needed to get into his room first.

She sat outside the door, listening to the pops of static that signified the Red Man was asleep. She crouched low to the floor, bunching her legs, and hoping she wouldn’t make too much noise when she hit the handle. Right as she was going to jump, a cold shiver ran down her spine. She immediately backed up to see a dark form, oozing like liquid, through the door. Large cyan eyes peered down at her, and a similarly colored smile stretched the length of its face, the Shadowman. 

Bella growled softly, hackles raising in warning. The Shadowman tilted its head at her curiously then turned to look at the door. She’d been expecting several things, but she didn’t expect it to disappear into the wood and, with a series of soft clicks, open the door. It reappeared, gave her a bow, and gestured for her to enter. She smiled and nodded gratefully. 

The Red Man’s room was so unbearably red it made Bella almost wish she was color blind like the earthly dogs. It was surprisingly simple, holding nothing more than a bed, wardrobe, and desk and lacking much decoration. As she expected it had several radios scattered around the room. The sound of static filled the area. If her senses were correct all the radios within the room were connected to each other, then back to him, so she’d only have to change the channel of one radio to get her effect. 

She went to the easiest one to reach and hopped up on a red desk. She placed a paw on the dial and barely moved it before the Red Man’s staticy snores stalled. She held her breath and watched his form, ready to run in an instant. A long moment passed. The pops of static resumed. She let out her breath. The Shadowman slithered up to her, shaking its head and looking amused. She glared at it before sitting back on her rump. If she continued to turn the dial, the man would surely wake up. Then again...who said _she_ had to do it?

Bella waved a paw to get the Shadowman’s attention. It cocked its head as she rushed to get a paper and pen, and messily scrawled out the radio station she wanted. Its smile became impossibly wide as it no-doubt recognized the station. She twitched an ear as the stations clicked by. Nothing but static sounded in the room, but in about half an hour that would change. 

She set a carefully practiced spell on it and left before he could awaken.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella woke up Fat Nuggets early the next morning so he could eat before she got started. He’d done more than enough with the information he supplied, but he had insisted on watching what she did, most likely so he could make sure she didn’t get killed.. Angel Dust was still gone and mostly everyone was expected to be asleep. Only one soul would be up at such an unsatanly hour of the morning, if last night hadn’t been too rough on him.

You see, it was well known that Vox and Valentino were allies, and that Vox and the Red Man hated each other. Thus, Vox had made an effort to make sure every show Valentino made was able to be heard on the radio just to piss the Red Man off at every chance. The latter had sensibly cast a spell on his radios to skip that channel. Bella had removed that spell last night and made sure the radios directly connected to him at all times couldn’t be silenced until the show was over. No matter where he went he could hear them. Which would have been good enough. 

However, that night, she supposed Vox had been feeling extra pissy and Valentino had a special on. Alastor had spent several hours that night unable to escape the “ _Oh, Alastor~_ ”s coming out of Angel Dust’s mouth at full blast no matter where he went. 

The whole setup had been child’s play really, her parents could probably have done better.

Bella nudged Fat Nuggets to hurry up with his eating. He snorted at her grumpily.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella trotted down the hall, struggling slightly to balance the object in her mouth. She stopped at the Red Man’s door, ignoring the sigils in the air, and turned to rapidly beat her back paw against the door, mimicking a knock. She made sure to step as far back as possible while remaining in his sight as the door swung open.

The man, considering how he usually looked, was a mess. A closer look revealed hair messier than usual, clothes unpressed in areas, claws twitching at his side, and shadows beneath his darting eyes that weren’t there the prior day. Clearly the special that night had done a number on him.

He glanced around slowly for a moment before his claws grabbed the door frame when his eyes landed on her. His claws proceeded to shred the frame when he saw what was in her mouth. His microphone was clamped tightly in her jaws and she made sure to drool just a bit to emphasize the image. She play-bowed as she relished the pure rage that entered his eyes, tail wagging. 

With a taunting shake, she tore down the hall full speed. She could hear his steps as he predictably gave chase. She panted in exhilaration, making a note to thank the Shadowman later for getting her the stand without waking the man. Bella made a sharp turn, heading for the stairs, the man followed, not slowing even as they neared the stairs. Bella bunched her legs and jumped, sailing over the first step and landing perfectly on the second one. 

The man had no chance to slow as his shoes lost friction when they came into contact with the oil on the smooth wood. He might’ve stood a chance. He might’ve been able to right himself in time, had Bella not spun around and launched herself through the space between his legs, the staff catching on his shins, their eyes met briefly before she sent him crashing down several flights of stairs.

Bella managed to make it to the side rail just in time, right next to the Shadowman and Fat Nuggets, to watch his descent. She grinned widely at the show and the Shadowman seemed amused. Concern shone in Fat Nugget’s dark eyes, not for the Red Man, of course, but more for what he would do when he recovered from the fall.

The man began to rise, not bothering to use the stairs, and rather floating up with radio dialed eyes and branching antlers. Bella snorted and ran off to the other stairs. The Shadowman dissipated and Fat Nuggets disappeared into Angel Dust’s room before they could be seen and also get into trouble. 

Bella took the back stairs, running faster as she noticed the sigils catching up to her. She managed to run into the open door of the kitchen and hop into an open cupboard, panting heavily.

The door suddenly slammed shut and locked. The Red Man had entered.

“Here doggy doggy...”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, Bella you've done it now.


	6. Chapter 6

Angel Dust trudged through the Porn Studios, trying to hold back a yawn. He'd been working all that night and, while he had certainly enjoyed the special Valentino had made him do, his body ached something fierce. He just wanted to get back to the hotel and take a short nap, maybe two to three days or so.

He paused outside Valentino’s office, feeling a familiar nervousness make his stomach squirm, and reached up to knock on the door. He stopped when strange noises sounded from behind the door. He nearly fled back the way he came for fear of interrupting one of Val’s “appointments” when he recognized the noises.

Laughter.

Many, many different sounds came from Val’s office: moans, screams, crying, begging, groaning, gagging, to name a few. Real laughter was something he hadn’t heard in a long time from there. Angel Dust frowned slightly and shakily knocked on the door in his usual rhythm. The laughter paused, but before Angel could make a break for it, Val’s voice called through.

“Angel Cakes, baby, come in!”

He sounded a little too happy for Angel’s liking, but the spider sucked it up and stepped into the office. Valentino was seated to the side of his extravagant desk. Sitting in his chaise lounge were three other demons: Vox, an orange cat with a striped shirt, and a large blueish-gray wolf in a leather jacket. All of them had their eyes glued on Val’s massive flat screen with wide grins on their faces. 

Angel Dust warily stepped halfway in and cleared his voice, “Uh, Boss, I finished a while ago an’ I was just comin’ ta tell you that I was headin’ out.”

Valentino nodded and waved a hand dismissively, “Yeah, yeah, baby, come look at this.”

Angel Dust fully walked in and situated himself beside the other three demons. He turned to the TV just in time to see a small dog sweep a demon’s legs from under him with a stick of some sort and send him toppling down some stairs. He supposed it was pretty funny, that is until he truly got a good look at the two. Bella and Alastor.

Well, shit.

How did Vox get a camera into the hotel without Al noticing? Why was Bella attacking Alastor? Why was Al after Bella? Angel Dust promptly stood up. He had to get back to the hotel before Alastor eviscerated Bella. Unfortunately, life was never that easy. 

“Ah, ah Angel Cakes,” tutted Val, “where do you think you’re going?”

“J-just heading home, boss. Ya know, I was feelin’ a bit tired, and I gotta go feed my pig, and-.”

“It’s quite rude to leave in such a hurry in front of our guests, know isn’t it? Besides, I’d suggest for your own safety you stay here for a few hours and watch with us.” Angel wasn’t sure if that was a warning, a threat, or both.

“What’s gonna happen?”

“Oh,” Vox piped up, “just a little show our darling little Nightshade has prepared for us.”

“Nightshade?”

“I think you call her...Bella, or something?”

Angel Dust swore he was going to get a headache in a few moments as he tried to wrap his head around what was going on. “Wait, wait, wait, how d’you know Bella? Why is she after Alastor?”

“Our little dear can’t really take no for an answer when she offers her friendship,” the cat answered with a smooth voice and slight french accent. Angel might’ve started flirting with him had he not been distracted. “she truly is her mother’s daughter.”

The large wolf playfully smacked the cat’s back, nearly sending him toppling off the seat, “Hey! I resent that statement!” She said.

Angel Dust blinked a few times, “Wait, are you two...”

The cat stuck out a paw for him to shake, “Excusez-moi, where are my manners? You may call me Beau, and this is my ex-girlfriend, Vastra.”

Vastra rolled her yellow eyes, “I’m his wife.”

Something in Angel’s mind clicked with recognition as he accepted the paw, “Haven’t I seen ya in a few blockbuster films?”

Beau stood and bowed deeply, “Indeed you have, I am one of Vox’s best actors, and where Nightshade gets her irresistible charm.”

Vastra snorted, “and her ego.”

“Don’t you have a building to blow up or something, dog?”

“Go eat a litter box, hairball.”

Angel grinned slightly, “Oh, you’re inta stirring trouble too, huh?”

Vastra’s mouth curled upwards revealing rows of razor sharp fangs, “You know it, I’ve seen you hang with my buddy Cherri a few times. A shame we haven’t met, you’d’ve been a nice addition to the battle we had last week on Hades Street.”

“Damn shame I missed it, saw it on TV, would’ve loved ta come.”

“Well, next week we gotta-”

Valentino waved a hand, “Enough introductions, the dog’s on the move.”

Sure enough Bella had run off with Al on her heels. Angel Dust swallowed and leaned close to Vastra to whisper, “Ain’t ya worried he might hurt her?”

Vastra smirked, “Ah, don’t sweat it, my girl’s got a few tricks up her paws. Beau and I taught her everything she needed to know. Besides, he quite literally can’t even touch her.”

Angel wasn’t sure what that last sentence was supposed to mean so he ignored it. “What’s she doing at the hotel anyway, if you know where she is and even got a video on her?”

“That would be my idea,” they both jumped slightly as Vox leaned over to murmur to them, keeping one eye on the screen, “see, I noticed little Bambi’s not too comfortable around those of the canine family, so I decided to have a little fun with it. Just get the most non suspicious dog, a few charms and spells here or there and, boom, entertainment”

“Why don’t you just out his weakness then?” Angel asked.

Vox snorted, “Oh, please, I barely believed it when I found out, who’s to say the rest of hell will too? Besides, the Radio Demon isn’t the only one bored out of his mind. For the moment, watching him make a pathetic fool of himself is revenge enough.” With that he reclined back against the chair.

Since Val had made it plenty clear that Angel was stuck there for the next few hours, he followed Vox’s suit to get comfortable. Might as well enjoy the show.

He shivered slightly as Al's voice hissed quietly, "Here doggy doggy..."

God, he hoped Bella’s parents knew what they were talking about.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Beau and Vastra, successful actor and resident anarchist.:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I had like a whole different chapter I wrote for like two days, then promptly scrapped after I drew out the characters.  
> Also, Vastra is actually larger than she appears on the image, but I forgot to shift their sizes, oh, well.


	7. Chapter 7

Alastor was not about to be bested by some half-wit mongrel. No, no, no. He was _this_ close to finally getting rid of it for good, he just needed a little more time and planning. But, if the dog wanted to toy with him, fine. They could play. A snap of his fingers created a sound barrier around the entire floor, no use in alerting his fellow patrons.

Alastor’s dialed eyes immediately shot towards movement in one of the power cupboards. He crouched low to the ground, his eyes lighting up the dark area, and searched through the various pots and pans he had supplied when he’d arrived. His eyes paused when the dog’s pupils reflected the light. His rage outweighed his fear as his hand shot forward to grab the mutt, knocking into the dishes. He was so close his gloved fingers brushed against its fur.

A sharp pain shot up his hand. 

_What the-_

He yanked his hand out. Black blood oozed onto the floor from the metallic teeth of a small bear trap. Hissing in pain, he attempted to open it, but his hands only slipped on his blood. He attempted to call his tentacles to break it, but his attention was soon drawn to a sigil on the trap that was blocking his full power. Well, that was certainly a nuisance.

A loud creaking distracted him. He glanced up briefly before doing a double take and barely managed to back out of the way just as a massive bag marked ‘FLOUR’ came towards him. He blinked slowly, his hand forgotten at the moment. How had the dog climbed up so quickly? There was a shuffle of movement right above him and this time he didn't get the chance to dodge as something large and metallic came straight at his head.

**...**

Alastor sat up blearily, how’d he get on the ground? A pounding headache was starting and his eyes caught sight of a large pot on its side with water spilt around it. That would certainly explain it. He hated to admit it, but perhaps the dog was not as stupid as he’d originally thought. He stumbled onto his feet, his hand was killing him and his head wasn’t helping much. He scoured the room for the mutt looking through all the upper cabinets and drawers first. The door was still sealed, so there was no way it had gotten out while he was down. He kept half of his attention on breaking the sigil as he searched.

A bark caught his attention. He looked down in time to see the dog light his pant leg with a match. Oh, shit. 

Alastor hopped up and down, using his good hand to beat at his pants. The dog ran around his legs and he stumbled back to avoid it. He grabbed a pot rushed to the sink, quickly turning a faucet. Nothing. He tried the other one. Same effect. He rushed to the door, dismantling the seal and getting to the closest sink behind the bar.

He doused himself with water, relieving flowing as the fire was finally put out. He leaned against the sink for a moment to regain his breath, then turned slowly to the smug little monster seated on the bar counter. His smile slowly stretched beyond what was perceived possible and his teeth ground audibly against each other. Oh, that beast would pay dearly.

He lunged forward, his claws soon digging into the dog’s flesh. It let out a satisfying yelp. Finally, he had it. His glee soon turned to confusion as what felt like multiple needles broke through his glove and dug painfully into his only good hand. Against his will, he released the dog, and growled under his breath. A hot, burning pain was slowly spreading from his palm and up his arms. Right where he had felt needles pricked he felt an even slower numbness spreading. 

He blinked up at the dog who smiled widely at him despite the blood dripping down its fur. He could differentiate the many sharp spines rising in its fur, some of the needles dripping a purple liquid. Ah, so that’s what its ability was. He had heard that hellborns had powers from infantry that developed as the being got older. Hell was a dangerous place to raise spawn after all. That would have been nice to know some seconds prior.

He shook out his hand, making a note to not grab the beast by the back again. Perhaps the throat would be better suited to wrap his hand around. Unfortunately, the dog was no longer on the counter. He frantically looked around, not keen on getting caught off-guard again. Just as he was turning towards the wall something sailed over the counter, bounced across him and landed right by the foot closest to the wall of alcohol. The object was small, round, had a paw print on it, a cord on one end, and-

_Oh, a bomb..._

Alastor leapt over the counter just as it detonated. The sheer force flung him clear across the foyer and so hard into the door the windows shattered and the wood gave with a loud _crack_. He promptly flung off his coat, which had caught flame. He coughed, waving a hand in front of his face to disrupt the awful smell of explosives and alcohols.

Husk was going to kill him.

At least the sound barrier kept anyone from waking. A dark shape darted from under the loveseat and hopped through the broken door into the outdoors. Alastor watched it, briefly wondering if the chase was worth it. He was fairly certain he’d broken a few ribs and bruised his shoulder, the hand he'd used to grab the thing was both burning and numb, _another_ one of his coats was a scorched mess on the ground, and his head was absolutely double-killing him. The bothersome sigil on the trap around his hand finally broke and the teeth released.

...Well, he certainly couldn’t let a dog, a puppy no less, make a mockery out of him. Besides, Charlie would question the mutts disappearance, and wouldn't it be such a _good deed_ if he returned it?

He gave chase.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella’s joy significantly out-weighed the pain in her back. She could feel the wounds healing, but her running around wasn’t helping. She was almost done anyways. If her calculations were correct she’d be able get to safety before the Red Man harmed her further. 

Speaking of which, she looked behind her to see the wendigo bursting out of the hotel. Demons screamed and scattered out of his way. She sped up and hopped into the back of a passing truck. She howled to keep his attention on her as the poor truck driver tried everything to get out of the Radio Demon’s way. Lucky for her, they were on the path she needed.

She stuck her forked tongue out at the demon and hopped out the side of the truck. Roads in hell were generally awful and rarely repaired. When they were, the demons usually chose the largest, most inconvenient area to start working and not bother to put up any warning signs. Terrible for everyone else, perfect for her.

She picked up speed and hopped from the road to the sidewalk, then onto a tall demon’s head then a flying demon's back, and finally to the top of a building. She had taken extra care not to touch a single paw to the road the whole time. She slowed and walked across the tops of the buildings. She didn’t need to look back to know that her plan had worked. She made her way to a building in front of a turn in the road and turned to watch the infamous Radio Demon struggle to free himself from a deep pit of partially dry cement.

Bella finally made her way down and made sure to slow when she passed the Red Man. He was certainly lucky most of the denizens of the area had evacuated as soon as he'd appeared. She trotted off back to the hotel and, more importantly, back to bed.

It had been a very entertaining morning.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Bella, you darling little trouble-maker.  
> Ya'll. I'm almost done with this fic and feeling mighty proud of myself!


	8. Chapter 8

It had taken Alastor such an embarrassingly long time to free himself- considering one hand was possibly broken and the other was nearly completely numb- that he’d enlisted the help of his shadow and sent his minions ahead to clean up what they could of the hotel before everyone awoke. Though he knew the residents would find something of a mess in the lobby once they came out. He hadn't had the time yet to replace the main doors and the alcohol destroyed in the blast. He swore his shadow had seen the whole ordeal from the way it tried in vain to hide its nearly silent laughter. He had wished he had simply been able to materialize in his room the whole time in the cement, but he might’ve not been able to do that without bringing the road with him. The cement had been just solid enough that he wasn’t willing to risk it. 

Pesky voodoo rules.

Once he was free enough that he was confident he wouldn't bring an entire freeway with him, he teleported back to his room. He’d taken several hours to thoroughly clean himself up and bandage his wounds. He stewed in his loathing all the while. He couldn’t even soothe the tense silence with music, since he’d disconnected his room radios from himself and thrown them out the night prior. Come to think of it, he was certain the mutt had been responsible for the less than stellar night he’d had. How she’d done it without waking or alerting him was a mystery. Bested by a puppy, how humiliating

Alastor hated the embarrassment tight in his chest

He hated the fading throbbing pain from the needles that had made its way slowly to his shoulder along with the even slower numbness at the site of the stings.

He hated the slobbering little  _ merde  _ (excuse his french) who'd done this to him.

He hated that he couldn't do something to it at that very moment without raising too many questions.

Most of all, he absolutely  _ despised _ the tinge of reluctant respect he felt for the creature that had pulled this off.

Were it not for his pride, he might say he was a tad bit impressed with the dog's set up. Were it after anyone else the mongrel had been after he may have even enjoyed its presence in the hotel. He even noticed his discomfort for the mutt slowly fading the longer it was in the hotel and, oddly enough, even more so today. One would think after what it had done his fea- discomfort would've heightened, yet it seemed the opposite was true. How curious.

He'd have to think about that later.

Alastor finished up the last of his healing. He wasn't sure what kind of venom the dog had injected in him, but it had taken the longest for him to fix and there was still some numbness left in his hand. 

He hopped off the bed and stretched. His ears caught a loud, surprised cry coming from the lobby. Charlie was awake.

He decided to wait a while before going downstairs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Angel Dust was outside Valentino's door and practically vibrating in his boots. The little "show" that Bella had put on had been one of the most nerve-wracking things he'd ever experienced. He swore he double-died a little inside everytime she landed a blow on Alastor. His hand was trembling nearly too much for him to light a cig. He deeply inhaled, ignoring the slight resistance in his throat, and puffed out the smoke, his body relaxing slightly allowing him to think just a little more.

During the viewing he had nearly exploded with rage at her parents for allowing this to happen. Then he noticed Beau's ears nervously twitching when Al had nearly grabbed Bella in the cabinets, the way Vastra whimpered slightly when Bella had danced around the on fire demon, the way they both let out silent gasps when Al's claws broke skin on her back (he swore he had heard one of them sniffle), followed by on slight relief when he'd quickly dropped her. Both had trembled slightly for the rest of the show after that, holding each other's hands. Truthfully, they had been fairly good actors, hiding their flinches as shifting positions and nervousness as excitement, but Angel Dust had been paying attention.

Speaking of the devils, the two finally exited Val's office. Both were bristling slightly. Angel Dust approached, attempting to keep a calm visage.

"So," Angel Dust said, the two turned to him quickly, clearly having not noticed him standing there, "why's she still there?"

Beau blinked, "Pardon?"

"Yer daughter, why's she still at the hotel? I doubt it's for  _ your _ entertainment. Pretty sure you'd rather have her home."

Vastra eyed him warily.

"Oh, c'mon, you can trust me! Friend of Cherri's issa friend o' mine."

Vastra sighed softly and shared a glance with her partner. She started walking down the hallway indicating for him to follow. So he did.

The trio walked for a long while and took a cab for even longer until the Porn Studios was well behind them. They stopped at one of the richer neighborhoods in front of a good-sized apartment. Angel Dust stopped in the front and whistled appreciatively.

"Nice digs ya got here."

Beau smiled slightly as he unlocked the door, " _ Merci _ , Vox pays his favorites enough to live a little outside of his watch. We can speak more freely here."

Angel snorted, "Wish I could say tha same 'bout Val."

The inside was fairly spacious and the three had seats across from each other in the living room. 

Angel Dust leaned forward in his seat and broke the silence, "Ya'll are some pretty good actors, but I've been in hell a while, spill."

Vastra looked at him intensely for a moment before answering quietly, "Bella has always had an eye for trouble, ever since we got her a few years ago.

Angel Dust tilted his head, “Got her?”

“Adoption.”

“Oh, yeah. I forget that exists down here.”

“She was always setting up various pranks and tricks. She used to be watched by Beau’s co-workers in the studio but she’s not allowed there anymore. I’d take her with me and Cherri when we went out, that’s where she learned to make the bombs, it’s my personal design.”

Angel decided to not voice his opinions on taking children into battlezones, “What happened at the studio?”

Beau smirked and looked off to the side, “Let us just say combustible items and puppies don’t mix well together...”

“And Vox didn’t kill her?”

“I think he was more impressed that a dog with no opposable thumbs could construct a bomb from a mixer and glitter glue.  _ Enfer _ , I was even impressed.”

“Damn...”

“ _Oui_ , so one could imagine when Vox found out about the Radio Demons... _issues_ with dogs he had a fairly good idea of who to “employ.””

Angel Dust frowned at the center table, “But why Bella? Why not someone older, more experienced?”

Vastra shook her head, “Why go through the trouble and stress of having someone like that possibly reveal their intentions under pressure when you have someone who’ll do it for free without knowing anything?”

“True, but why is she even after Alastor?”

Beau played with his claws, “Bella is a spawn of hell; out of The Seven she is born of Vainglory: Pride. When the Radio Demon rejected her advances for friendship he insulted her very being. She could not let that go unpunished. Though, like all the sins, her pride may be the death of her.”

Angel Dust sat back and gazed at the ceiling with a sigh, “ _ Mio dio _ , this is ridiculous. We do anythin’ and Vox’ll kill us. We sit on our asses and Al will kill Bella.”

Vastra growled low under her breath, “Now you see the problem.”

Angel dragged a hand slowly over his face, “If I know Overlords, Vox’ll only let Bella leave when he gets bored. But, considering this is Alastor we’re talking about, that would only happen when Al gets ridda her...” He paused, eyes brightening, “or...”

Beau glanced up, “ _ Or? _ ”

“What if Bella suddenly didn’t bother Al anymore?”

“Not going to happen, Bella would never-”

“No, no, I mean what if he  _ looked  _ like he made peace with her?”

“That is a rather charming idea, but how do you plan to pull it off? Vox would simply wait until he and her eventually went back to hating one another. I doubt your Radio friend could stand her long afterwards...”

Angel Dust nodded, “Yes, that would happen. So we gotta make a grand gesture, something that’ll convince Vox.” He grinned wide, eyes turning slightly wicked, “And I think I know just what to do.”

Beau and Vastra shared a look. They turned back to him, moths curled in wide, sharp-toothed smiles. “What did you have in mind?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm, no artwork for this chapter unfortunately, not much action happened anyway. I am thinking maybe two or three chapters left.
> 
> "The Seven" refers to the seven deadly sins, all who are hellborn are inclined to one specific sin. I imagine Loona in Helluva boss is incline to Wrath, while Bella is inclined to Pride.


	9. Chapter 9

The bar was a complete wreck. Broken glass and various alcohols were spread in the wreckage. Black scorch marks painted the walls. It looked like a bomb had been set off. The main doors looked like a battering ram had been run through them. All the stained glass had shattered and the splintered wood bent inwards. 

Charlie wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there gaping at the mess before her. 

“Que demonios?!” Charlie nearly jumped as Vaggie entered the room, “What the hell happened here?”

Charlie shook her head, “I-I’m not sure, I came down and it was like this.”

“It looks like a bomb went off in here. Wait...wouldn’t we have heard it?”

Charlie blinked. Yeah, wouldn’t they? An explosion this big should have woken everyone in the hotel up. “Hold on.” She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, allowing her powers to sweep the room. She felt a sudden resistance in the air where the stairs started. “There’s a sound barrier on this floor.”

Vaggie cursed, glowering over the wrecked lobby, “First that dumbass snake blows a hole through our walls and now this.”

“Who could have done this?”

Vaggie paused for a moment, “Angel Dust, he’s the only one likely to do this.”

Charlie shook her head, “Not with Fat Nuggets in here, besides, I don’t think he knows enough magic to make a whole barrier.”

“He could know someone who does. Other than him, there’s only one person at this hotel besides you who knows that much magic.”

“Al? No, he wouldn’t.”

“What’s stopping him? What if they both did it?”

“But why would he do it? It seems kinda random. I know he has this weird sense of humour, but I don’t think he’s into random vandalism. Aaand I don’t think he can stand Angel long enough to plan this.”

Vaggie sighed quietly and covered her face with a hand, “Niffty’s going to flip when she sees this.”

“When I see wha- HOLY MOLY” The little cyclop’s eye widened in shock, “Oh my, oh me, oh me oh my, what happened? Well, I can see what happened, a bomb went off. But how, when?” She skittered all over the room, inspecting the mess, “No, nope, not good, not good at all. That can’t be there, that’s broken, no, nope. That’ll need to be replaced. Ooh, that will stain. This’ll take forever! I guess it’s good we have forever, huh? Well, until the cleanse at least...Oh, my, this bad! Husk will have a fit!”

“‘Bout what?” The old cat paused in the middle of the room and looked around, his deadpan expression never changing. His eyes landed on the destroyed bar. “Fucking Alastor,” he grumbled quietly. He was too old for this shit.

“How do you know?” Charlie asked.

“Felt his magic when I walked in. Whatever he was doing down here clearly backfired. I’ll have to kill him later...after he replaces the bar.”

“But why would he do this?” Charlie wasn’t keen on blaming the demon.

“Fuck if I know. Don’t even know if he meant to destroy the lobby, but that’s what he did.”

“I’ll kill that shitlord,” Vaggie hissed.

“Get in line.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Angel Dust hurried back to the hotel. It was too late in the day for Alastor to try anything since the others were definitely awake by now. Still, he wanted to get back as soon as possible. He needed to feed Fat Nuggets and get the plan rolling. Plus he was very late from the time he said he’d be back. Hopefully it was Charlie’s “I’m disappointed in you” look late and not a spear through the kidneys late, courtesy of Vaggie.

He arrived and paused at the shattered doors. He reached with a hand to pull one door open. The whole thing came crashing down on him. Luckily his body was standing right in the area where the windows broke so it broke around him and not on top. He stared quietly at the wreckage for a moment. He turned to see four pairs of eyes staring at him.

Welp, might as well get this over with. “What?”

Which of course pissed Vaggie off, “ _What_? Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to be back hours ago!”

Angel shrugged and stepped through the doorway, “Look, I got caught up with some buddies, and we lost track of time. Didn’t cause any trouble this time, okay?”

Vaggie glowered at him for a moment before turning back to the wreckage, “Ok...”

That answer was...odd.

“But if you’re late one more time, I’ll skewer your liver and roast it over a bonfire.”

That was more like it.

Angel Dust raised his hands in a placating gesture , “Relax, babe. I got tha message.”

He paused by the group and whistled at the wreckage.He’d seen the explosion on the TV, but he hadn’t gotten a good look at the damage until that moment. "So, uh, what happened here?”

“We think that Alastor may have had a hand in what happened,” Charlie answered, though she looked unsure of herself.

“ _May_? Please, we know he did it.” Vaggie hissed, “When I get my hands on that pompous asshat I’ll rip him a new one.”

Well, then looks like Angel had to get to Alastor before Vaggie got herself killed...as funny as that would be. “Damn… well, I’d love to stick around, but I got uh..stuff to do, _ciao_ ~” He rushed off to the stairs before he could be called back. Now he could focus on the problem at hand.

_Where the hell is Alastor’s room?_

Angel knew he changed the location every day, whether he teleported his things or simply rearranged parts of the hotel without everyone noticing, he wasn’t sure. So he simply walked by every door focused on trying to feel the light pull of static on his fur. It was slow work and it wasn’t until the seventh floor that he felt his fur begin to stand on end. He knocked on the 77th door. 

“Yes~?”

“It’s Angel-”

“I’m sorry, but I am not available at the moment, please come back when you’re not Angel Dust.”

Yeah that’s what he expected. “Hey, look, everyone done there is blaming you for tha mess. I can help you out-”

“And why, pray tell, would I ever require your help?”

“Well, I can get ridda Bella for you, without sending Charlie after ya.”

“...”

“But, you gotta make a promise ta me first.”

The door swung open. 

Alastor stood right in front of him, looking unkempt, as if he’d rolled in bed the whole night. On any other day, Angel would have made a suggestive comment about his disheveled appearance, but they were running on a time crunch. “Why would you of all demons wish to get rid of the dog when you fancy it the most?”

“Well, I can’t tell ya until you agree ta make the promise first. Then I can tell ya what’s goin on and how to stop it.”

Alastor’s eyes narrowed, “As tempting as that sounds, I only make deals, not promises.”

Angel rolled his eyes, he’d figured, “Yeah, fine, whatever.” He sighed, “Alright, so I got two buddies who can help ya, but if we get ridda Bella, you cannot in any way purposely cause them or their families any harm, or take any action that would result in harm, unless they do first. Deal?”

If Alastor was in a better state of mind and body he probably would’ve questioned the spider further. But the day had not been kind to him and he was at his wit’s end, “Very well then. You ensure the dog leaves the hotel and I will agree to your terms.” He stuck out a hand. Angel eagerly shook it.

Angel Dust cleared his throat, “Right, can I come in? This may take a while.” 

Alastor stepped aside.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alastor listened silently while Angel Dust explained the situation to him. So, Vox had decided to toy with him. That was simply unacceptable. After the dog was gone, he may need to pay his fellow overlord a visit.

“And then I came here and saw the mess and that’s about it.” Angel Dust finished.

“I see, and what is your plan to oust the dog?”

Angel Dust chuckled nervously.

Alastor did not like the sound of that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Oh come on you two, it’s just for today!” Angel Dust insisted.

They were in his room. Bella glowered at Alastor from the bed and Al glared right back from across the room. Fat Nuggets was hidden under the bed and watched on. Alastor was currently jamming the spell put on Bella in the room so Vox would only see her sleeping. Angel had been trying for the last half hour to get them to agree to work with one another, but he’d have an easier time herding cats than getting the two most prideful beings on the same team, at least he could coax the cats with booze. They were running out of time before the next part of the plan came into play.

“As if I would ever work with that mongrel,” Alastor said, static hissing.

Bella barked in agreement.

“Now, now Bella, please just do it, for me?” Angel asked.

Bella gave him a side-eye and snorted, turning away.

“Okay, fair, what about your parents?” Her head turned slightly towards him, “They miss ya real bad. Don’t ya wanna see them again? ” she whimpered softly, “‘Cause if we don’t do this, ya might not get another chance.”

She shifted her weight, staring at the pink covers for a long moment. Then, finally, with a sigh she turned towards Angel Dust and nodded. 

“And Al, I know ya hate dogs, but they’re getting ready to tear you apart for the mess down there, ‘specially Vaggie. I can help ya get off of everyone’s radar.” 

Alastor rolled his eyes and sighed, “Very well, but that mutt better be able to hold its own.”

Bella snarled.

“Hey, chill you two. We gotta get outside before-”

An explosion rocked the building. Angel lurched to the side and scrambled for balance while Bella clutched onto his leg. Alastor didn’t move an inch and tilted an ear towards where the noise came from. Angel finally got his bearings when there was another hit and the ground vibrated. 

“Shit, we’re late! Al-”

Alastor snapped his fingers. Angel Dust felt as though his whole body was being compressed all at once and nothingness took over his vision. Suddenly his feet met ground and he stumbled, clutching his head, dazed. They were right outside the hotel. Well at least him and Al were.

“Dammit Alastor, you know we need Bella for this!” 

Alastor sighed and snapped his fingers. Bella appeared in Angel’s arms looking equally dizzy. She shook it off and growled low in her throat.

“Oh, do hush, you’re fortunate I brought you here unharmed.”

“Knock it off you two, we got bigger problems.”

They turned to see a large airship manned by none other than Sir Pentious. Said snake popped his head out of the window and grinned down at the trio, “I’m back~” he yelled in sing-song voice, “And I’ve got something faster and better than ever. Try to catch me now Alastor!”

Alastor eyed the ship for a moment before snapping his fingers. Massive inky black tentacles lunged at the ship, which swiftly flew out of the way. The tentacles continued to reach and jab at the machine, but it was too quick, slipping through the dark mass. Pentious laughed maniacally.

Angel Dust sighed and called out, "You and Bella are supposed to be working together, don't you want her gone?"

Bella snorted and hopped out of Angel's arms, disappearing around the corner of a nearby building. She reapered a moment later, dragging a large sack behind her. She reached in and pulled out a purple bomb with a pawprint on it. She barked to get Alastor's attention. The demon stared at her, then the bomb for a long moment. Then a look of understanding entered his face. He waved a hand in her direction and the fuze lit. Bella grinned sharply. She gripped the bomb with her back legs and lobbed it over her head. It exploded against the side of the airship with shocking accuracy.The ship lost some height, allowing a tentacle to slash the side before it went back up.

Alastor and Bella looked at each other and shared a smile for the first time.

It was showtime.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo, what's this? Team work?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, 100 kudos!? Thank you so so much everyone!! I'm so glad you like this story!

Alastor was, dare he say, impressed with the dog's ability. Despite a clear lack of opposable thumbs, or a humanoid body in general, she managed to land a blow with nearly every bomb she threw while also managing to dance out of the way of anything the ship fired at them. Each hit slowed or lowered the ship, allowing Alastor to stab at it. Hey seemed to have a good rhythm going with: a bark, a boom, a slash, a dodge, a bark, a boom, and so on. 

Speaking of rhythm, Alastor snapped his fingers, putting on some nice swing music to go with the wonderful destruction. The dog paused and tilted her head. She grinned and barked before continuing, it seemed she had good taste. One particular bomb brought the ship close enough for a tentacle to puncture through the hull and bring it down near the ground. He could hear the snake inside screeching something that he didn't bother to listen to. The rest of the dark mass shot through the machine, crushing it from the inside out. The screeching intensified and he caught sight of what looked like eggs falling out of the holes.

The guns began to glow, indicating another attack. Alastor tensed slightly, ready to move, only for the ship to lurch sharply to one side and fire. Straight towards the hotel. Straight towards Angel Dust, who'd moved there to stay out of the pair's way. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella howled in alarm as the blast hit the spider, point blank. He flew back, hitting the wall limply and sliding to the ground. The world seemed to slow. She ran to him as fast as she could, though it didn't feel fast enough. Her heart raced and her legs trembled when she got to him. She whimpered softly, ignoring the smell of burnt fur and blood, and nudged his hand. He didn't move. She pressed her nose against his side, quivering, silently begging him to get up, to look at her, to smile, to do _anything._ There was silence.

Bella wasn't familiar with the odd ache in her chest or the burning in her eyes. She was, however, very familiar with the bubbling rage in her stomach and the heat in her body. She knew the feeling of lengthening claws, the narrow spines pushing their way out of skin, and the strength that flowed through her body. She turned, eyes purely red, to the nearly grounded ship, her eyes locked on the black snake. She ran towards him, feeling nothing but murderous intent. 

She hopped easily onboard through one of the many holes and landed in a room full of….sentient eggs? The things stared at her in equal shock before frowning and pulling out various weapons like knives, bats, and potato peelers. Bella sneered, and rushed them. Their shells broke easily under her claws and teeth, plus they were hilariously clumsy, often hitting one another in their scramble, pun intended, to grab a hold of her. 

Despite her anger, Bella had to admit the fight was rather fun. It was kind of like fighting a room full of pinatas. She mostly ignored the yolk-like innards that spilled in her fur as she tore her way through the pitiful army and ran up a flight of stairs. She paused at what looked like the control room for the ship, including a giant glass she could see the hotel and the demons on the ground through. Her eyes locked on a long, dark shape that had its back turned towards her. He was facing the window, yelling something down at the Red Man.

Her lips curled revealing long, hooked canines, dripping with venom. Her claws, now violet, twitched impatiently. Her tail elongated, long spines protruded along it. She crept forward slowly, forked tongue flicking out between her teeth. She minded where she stepped, careful not to alert the snake or any of the egg minions around it. Carefully she made her way onto the wheel behind the snake. Her tail lifted and shivered, spines letting out a distinctive rattle. The Snake Man stiffened and turned slowly. Red eyes locked onto yellow ones.

Bella lunged.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alastor wasn’t exactly sure what had happened. He’d appeared at Angel Dust’s side after the dog had disappeared into the ship. Luckily, the other demon had still been breathing. One moment he had turned to the snake who seemed to be talking to him, though truthfully he hadn’t paid it much mind. The next moment the ship was tilting from side to side and his ears caught a lot of screaming going on inside.

He finally caught sight of a small, dark shape hopping onto something, long spines twitching along its back and tail. Several of the spines shot out, burying themselves into the rather sluggish snake’s arm, his body was already practically covered in purple needles. Had Alastor had any semblance of human sympathy he may have felt bad for the snake. He hadn’t gotten nearly as much venom in his body when he’d grabbed the dog. 

Alastor paused his own attack, simply having the tendrils hold the ship steady and watched the show. The swing he’d put on earlier only added to his amusement. 

Angel Dust suddenly groaned, wincing as his movements jostled his wounds. “Wha- What the fu-” 

“Ah, Angel Dust! I see you’ve decided to join the land of the conscious!”

“Turn that down will ya, M’head is killin me...” He ran a hand over his face and looked around, “Where’s Bella?”

“Well, it seems sh- _it_ has gone off to face our foe in your honor.”

If Angel Dust noticed his mistake, he didn’t acknowledge it, “...wha?”

“The dog is fighting the snake. It’s really quite entertaining.”

Angel raised an eyebrow and sat quietly to watch. The ship suddenly took a dive right into solid concrete. Alastor wasn’t in the mood to waste any more energy and ordered the tendrils to rip into the engine and tank, releasing black oil. With a snap of his fingers, the oil lit and, like a fuze for a bomb, the flame quickly traveled up the liquid to the tank. 

The ship exploded. Alastor had to raise a shield to protect him and Angel from the shrapnel. Angel Dust stared slack-jawed at the explosion.

Bella had still been on the ship.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“What is _wrong_ with you?!” Angel screamed at Al. He ignored the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

“Angel Du-”

“She is just a _child_ , Al! I know you didn’t like her-”

“Angel-”

“You’re such a hypocrite, you know! You and her are-”

“ANGEL.”

Angel Dust stilled, Alastor almost never yelled. Alastor sighed and rolled his eyes.

“I do wish you’d have a little more faith in me to think ahead, dear.” A dark mass of writhing tendrils moved slowly from the wreckage and towards them. It landed on the floor and slowly opened, revealing a yolk covered, slightly confused puppy. 

“Bella!” Angel was practically gasping with relief. He rushed to hug her then paused at the sticky mess on her fur, “maybe a bath first to get rid of the egg on you.” _And the not-so mysterious red liquid that he was choosing to ignore._

Bella barked in agreement. Alastor approached her, she tensed slightly. He stiffly stretched a gloved hand towards her. She shook it slowly, feeling the way his static pricked at her fur. The exchange was much less awkward than Angel had imagined.

All was well for the moment. 

“QUE MIERDA!?”

Ok, moment over.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the end, Angel Dust did not tell the Hazbins what had actually happened in the lobby. He didn’t think Al’s pride could take it. He did discreetly tell Charlie about the spell Vox put on Bella, which she promptly dismantled. He elected to go with a story of Bella trying to mimic her mother and simply being unaware of the dangers bombs posed, she was only a child after all. Alastor had come down too late to stop the explosion, but with just enough time to manage the damage via a sound and shield barrier.

Charlie had eaten it up. Husk continued to send glances at Alastor, whose face revealed nothing. Niffty didn’t seem to care one way or the other. And Vaggie glared at Angel suspiciously, but she always did that so he ignored it.

Beau and Vastra had backed him up. At first, Vaggie didn’t believe they were actually the parents until Bella had sprinted down seven flights of stairs and into their arms the moment she heard Beau introduce himself. 

Now all nine of them were seated in a circle in one of the nearly empty rooms Charlie had wanted to use for group therapy or something. 

“We really are glad to have met Angel,” Beau said, “he has helped us more than I ever could have imagined.” He looked at Angel with a soft smile and a handsome face full of unspoken gratitude. Angel Dust had to reign in his fluttering heart before he ruined the moment.

“Yeah, ya don’t haffta thank me, you two, I was just just doing what any man would have,” Angel drawled, enjoying Vaggie’s sharp glare.

Vastra snorted quietly, careful not to jostle Bella who was resting in her arms. “I’m sure you did, and we’re very grateful. But, Beau dear, we should get home soon, I see some storm clouds coming.”

Beau glanced out the window, “Ah, apologies everyone, but we would like to take our daughter home before the rain starts.” No one wanted to be caught in acid rain.

“No trouble at all!” Alastor exclaimed, “Please, take her!” Angel Dust made an effort to not laugh at the Radio Demon, who had taken the seat farthest away from Vastra. To be fair, she was not only canine but massive, taller and broader than him. However, since they were in a circle, it meant he was directly across from her and in her line of sight. Angel pretended not to notice the way Al’s ears twitched slightly, a sign of his deer instincts going haywire.

“Alrighty then,” Vastra said, standing up, “good luck, princess, and goodbye everyone.”

Mostly everyone called out some form of goodbye as the trio left the hotel and disappeared in a car.

Angel Dust sighed and turned to Al, “Am I the only one who’s going to miss Bella?”

Alastor looked him up and down for a moment before returning his gaze to the window, “Don’t ask such silly questions.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Happy Family:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright y'all, one more chapter and then I have another treat. Stay tuned~


	11. Epilogue

Angel Dust stared ahead as he drove down the road at night. Years had passed since the little dog had followed Charlie home. Guests came and went. Pentious had been fine after he’d regenerated and, as was agreed, he was given part of Cherri Bomb’s territory. A nasty patch of land crawling with beasts she’d made the mistake of claiming when she’d been a newbie, she’d wanted it gone for years. Angel Dust had visited Bella a few times after she had been reunited with her folks. But, they moved fairly far away after the ordeal, rightfully uncomfortable living anywhere near the Radio Demon. 

The hotel became more popular than any of them could have anticipated. Charlie had yet to truly redeem someone, but a large number of demons had managed to turn their lives around for the better. Alastor enjoyed those who failed to do so. So, it was kind of a win-win situation. Angel Dust had to admit he had grown quite a bit of respect for the princess as time went on.

“There’s a short-cut here.”

Angel Dust flinched, scrambling to regain control of the car as it lurched out of its lane and nearly into an oncoming truck. “God, warn a guy, Al!”

Alastor stared at him through the passenger’s seat, “Apologies my friend, but I happened to be walking by and recognized your car. I figured a ride would be more interesting than simply popping into the hotel.”

Angel Dust sighed, “Yeah, whatever, ya said there was a short-cut ‘round here?” Despite the initial scare, Angel Dust had to admit that Alastor had become something of a friend over the years. They’d certainly covered each other’s backs on more than one occasion.

“Most certainly! Simply take the next left.”

“If you say so...” Angel changed course. Leading them down a darkened road. Granted, everywhere was dark since most of the street lights didn’t work anyway. But Angel noticed the buildings that passed by looking more and more abandoned. Not even the immeasurable amount of homeless demons that always scurried the streets were to be seen. He was getting a real bad feeling about the place.

“Hey, Al?”

“Hm?”

“Uh, are ya sure, we’re going tha right way?”

“I never give advice I am uncertain of. We are exactly where I intended us to be.”

Angel Dust pretended the last part of his answer didn’t fill him with dread, “Right...so this place is supposed ta look like this?”

“My dear, do you not have faith in me? After all these years? Why, I should be offended.”

“Yeah, no offense, Rudolph, but ya don’t exactly have tha best track record.”

Years ago that nickname would have gotten him eviscerated, but Al simply sighed and rested his head against the window. “True, true.”

They drove for a long while in silence. Usually, “silence” between the two was permeated by static or the sound a radio made while flipping through stations. But there was nothing aside from white noise, it made Angel’s fur bristle. Al usually only made that sound when he was on the lookout. Angel Dust at least had the mind to keep his markings from glowing, lest they alert Alastor on his mood. The last time he had glowed in the dark, about two years ago, Al had spent a week trying to scare him enough to make him do it again without getting caught. Charlie had given him an earful after she found out.

Now the memory made Angel chuckle, “Hey Al, remember when-”

Something exploded beneath the car, tossing it high up into the air and tumbling down the street. Angel Dust tucked himself as tightly into a ball as he could to protect himself, hell had no airbags after all. Finally, the car stopped, he hung upside down. Pushing back the urge to hurl, Angel unbuckled himself, silently thanking Charlie for insisting they all install seat belts into their cars, and kicked the glass, easily shattering the already cracked window. He crawled out of the wreckage, trying to ignore the pain as tiny pieces of glass cut into his skin. He finally managed to pull out his whole body onto the pavement and flopped onto his back, panting. 

Alastor stood over him, not a hair out of place. Of course the asshole had teleported himself safely onto the sidewalk the moment the mine had detonated. “Are you quite finished?” 

Angel glared up at him, “Ya couldn’t have gotten me out?”

“You didn’t ask.”

Before Angel could give him a colorfully worded response, the man simply turned and began walking down the road. “I suggest you follow quickly, Angel Dust, this area is not safe at any time of the day.”

Angel stumbled onto weak legs and followed. Alastor kept his head facing straight ahead, but Angel easily noticed the way his ears swiveled around and his fingers tightly gripped his microphone staff. A tense Radio Demon was never a good sign.

“Okay Al, where the hell are we?” Angel hissed.

“On the shor-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But _where_ are we.” Translation: _What kind of bullshit situation did you put me in without my knowledge,_ **_again_ ** _?_

“We are on Southern Gehénnam road.”

The name rang a bell, if that bell was an alarm. Had he heard it on the TV or something? He wasn’t really one for politics, but Vaggie sometimes kept the lobby TV on the news channel. Wait.

“Hold up, isn’t that tha place where-”

Something shiny and silver embedded itself into the wall by his face. A dart. Before he could think about the amount of force it would take to sink a dart into a brick wall he felt the sensation of being compressed all at once and blacking out. Only for all his senses to come back at once. 

“God, Al! Warn me, just once, please!” Alastor hushed him and warily glanced around. Angel stared at their surroundings. They were in an alleyway in a whole new location, though still on Gehe-whatsitsname. The buildings here were mostly demolished. Angel could smell all types of explosives and poisons tainting the air. Even the road was more rubble than actually road.

Angel had heard about the road on the news. Apparently different gangs had been fighting over it since the last extermination. The empty streets seemed to make it clear there had been a victor. Meaning said victor would be working overtime to make sure any trespassers were taken care of until they could solidify their claim. 

“Well,” Alastor said, seemingly satisfied with whatever he did, or didn’t, see, “I must admit this place is certainly more boring than I imagined.”

As if Lucifer himself heard the comment, a series of silver dart embedded into the walls in front of them, forcing them back into the alley. Angel Dust’s foot landed on a slightly protruding piece of stone. A soft _click_ made his body freeze. 

“Al,” Alastor paid him no mind, taking the time to conjure a barrier around them, which would have been fine and good if Angel Dust wasn’t stepping on a mine at that very moment. “Alastor, Al, hey AL.”

“ _What,_ what is it?”

Angel pointed at his foot, “I think we may have a slight problem.”

Alastor stared at him for a moment, then he realized. He sighed through his teeth, “Warning.”

Angel Dust didn’t have time to figure out the statement before his world compacted and darkened once again. This time, they were dropped in a mostly destroyed building, what looked like it had originally been a parking garage, behind a huge slab of concrete. Angel out a shuddering breath now that he wasn't one wrong step away from being blown to pieces. 

"Hey, uh, thanks for the warning, I guess." He said

"My pleasure, now hush!" Alastor peeked out from behind the rubble, "I don't fancy being tracked, I'd rather be doing the hunting."

Oh, right, Alastor was the one who knowingly had led them into an area that had been riddled with turf wars for the past two months and was the reason they were currently being tracked down by the area's new owner. And for what? Entertainment? Amusement? Angel huffed quietly, not even bothering to confront the deer, the argument wouldn't get them anywhere anyway. Speaking of getting places.

"Wait, why the hell don't ya just teleport us back home? Isn't that what ya do like all tha time?"

"I'm afraid whoever has claimed this street has some sort of spell or mark on this place. I can move us mostly anywhere in the territory, but I can't get us out." Alastor all but grumbled. "This magic feels familiar, though I can't quite place it."

Angel Dust groaned, "We're so damned."

A sharp _clink_ made him look up to come face to face with a violet grenade. Ah, Lucifer had heard them again, "AL-" it exploded.

Angel Dust had barely been able to move behind a still-standing pillar. Alastor had not been so lucky. Angel rushed to his side, grimacing at the black blood oozing from the many lacerations in the deer's abdomen. Alastor hissed sharply as he shifted, attempting to get up. Angel helped him onto his feet. Al clutched his stomach. 

"Well," Alastor's voice was nearly inaudible through the static, "this is less than ideal."

A slim, silver dart embedded itself into Alastor's neck, followed by three more in his side. His legs gave out. Angel barely managed to catch him before he hit the floor. Alastor gripped him tightly, eyes slightly glossy but still clearly conscious.

"This is even less ideal," he said, slurring slightly. Whatever was in the darts was taking effect quickly. Alastor didn't seem like he could take many more and Angel _really_ didn't want to be alone with whoever was out there. 

Alastor managed to teleport into a more secure area, where no one could come up behind them. Angel Dust scanned the streets, still seeing nothing. They wouldn't survive the next few hours if neither of them could even see who was attacking. Angel paused, he could challenge them, there were unspoken turf war paws that once challenged, they had to face each other head-to-head with whatever they had on their person. Angel might have the advantage with his guns. This however relied heavily on if the challengee even bothered to acknowledge the challenger. They could easily just keep firing and drive them out, or kill them.

He turned to Al who had slumped into a sitting position. "Alright, Al, I'm gonna step out and challenge this guy."

Alastor stared at him incredulously, "Angel, if heard you say many stupid things, but this is truly foolish!"

"I'll take that as a 'go ahead'"

"Wha- Angel come back here!"

Angel Dust leapt over their make-shift shelter and walked out into the street. He hadn't felt this exposed in a long while. 

"Hey! Bitch with the bombs an' stuff, why don't ya come out and fight like a real demon!"

There was silence. Angel Dust waited to be murdered. Something small and metallic clanked down the street and stopped at his feet. It beeped once then opened. Gas poured out, obscuring Angel's vision. He coughed, eyes watering. He turned around and around, unable to find his way back to Al, or anywhere, the smoke was too thick. He looked up, searching for a way to anywhere when he froze.

Glowing red eyes pierced through his own. The creature was hunched on a low roof, pupils mere slits and teeth bared. A long tail curled behind it, covered in what looked like long, purple hairs. The tail shivered and a distinctive rattle filled the silence. A low growl soon joined the sound. Angel could make out the face of a hound. 

The two stared at each other for a long while before the hound lunged from the roof with blinding speed. Angel pulled out his tommy gun and fired at it, only for the hound to disappear a moment later in the thick fog. 

Angel strained his eyes to find it, lower hands tensed on the tommy gun, upper hands each holding a handgun. He heard a rattle. Purple spines dug into his back. He hissed in pain, unable to pull them out, lest the hound use the distraction as an opportunity. He could feel painful venom seeping into his body. Lucky for him, he'd learned that venomous demons were more immune to other poisons and venoms, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. 

Another rattle. Angel fired blindly towards the sound. The bullets hit nothing but air. More needles dug into his body. Now his back was getting numb, he couldn't take much more of this. This time Angel stayed still, listening. A rattle. He turned and fired directly opposite of the sound and was awarded with a pained yelp. Which may have been a mistake considering the enraged snarl that followed.

Before Angel Dust knew what was happening, he was knocked into the ground, guns clatter out of reach, then the back of his head cracked against a wall. A massive black paw was wrapped around his neck. A massive hellhound glared down at him with red eyes and dark intent. Angel noticed Alastor at the corner of his eye peeking out from an alleyway. 

A black tendril lunged out of Angel's shadow and wrapped around the paw that had him pinned, pulling it off, others joined, wrapping around the enraged hound. She howled in fury, tearing into the dark forms with long claws. 

Angel ran to Al, "Thanks, Al! Finish her off!"

"Can't."

"What?"

"I can't, my magic won't let me. It seems to be deal bound. I can't hurt her unless she tries to harm me."

"She threw a grenade at us!"

"At _you_."

"And the darts?"

"Not meant to harm, just to incapacitate."

"For fucks sake Al, why would you make a deal like that?"

"I don't know, Angel, why would I?"

His tone sounded accusatory. But their argument could wait, the hound had torn through her bonds and leapt at Angel, this time pinning him against the street, he felt her teeth prick his throat. Alastor froze whatever he was doing, she could easily tear into Angel's neck at any moment.

A long moment passed, no one moved. Then Angel heard the dog sniff. The teeth moved from his neck, replaced with a cold, wet nose sniffing his fur. Angel decided to not be weirded out as it wasn't the strangest thing someone had done to him. The hound, with surprising gentleness, lifted him onto his feet. She stared at him increduously, irises now ivory. 

"U-uncle Angie?"

Angel Dust did not recognize the voice at all, but he finally got a good look at the face, the brown markings, the blackish-purple fur, the purple spines that were now retracting. "Bella?!"

"Uncle Angie!"

"Bella!" He pulled her into a six armed hug, "how are you? It's been years. You're what, like twelve now?"

"Sixteen." She replied, returning the hug and nearly breaking all his ribs simultaneously.

"Sixteen and already kicking ass and taking turf!"

Bella grinned sheepishly at the ground, "Right, um _desolee_ , I didn't recognize you before I attacked. Only the Red Man."

"Al?" Angel had forgotten him, he locked eyes with Alastor who looked far more relaxed than he expected as he walked with slow movements and stopped a respectable distance away. He remembered what he had said in the car.

_We are exactly where I intended us to be._

There hadn't been any magic in the area stopping Al from getting them out. Magic users as powerful as that wouldn't waste their time on turf wars. Meaning Al hadn't wanted them to leave.

"Well, this has taken a turn." Al said. 

He locked eyes with Bella.

"Dog."

"Deer."

"It's been a while."

"Seven months to be precise."

"Oh, you're counting?"

"Yes, I am. I'm hoping to find a pattern in your visits so I can avoid them."

Angel Dust raised an eyebrow, "Wait....Al, you've been checking up on her? And here I thought you hated her."

Bella snorted, "So did I."

Alastor glared at her, "Oh, please Angel. I despise her very existence. There were just moments we happened to cross each other's paths."

"Twenty-seven different 'moments' to be exact," Bella added, unhelpfully. "He mentions you. _A lot_."

Al looked away, "You just happen to cross my mind occasionally."

"You said his name sixteen times when we last met."

"Is there anything you're not keeping track of?"

"Well, I wouldn't be where I am now if I didn't take note of things."

Angel smirked at Al. Of course he'd try and play it off, couldn't have demons thinking he actually cared, "That's a lot of weird coincidences, isn't it, Smiles?"

Alastor looked, dare he say, flustered. "Angel, I suggest you and the dog hurry and get reaquanted. Charlie will not be happy if we are out too late."

Angel simply smiled and turned back to Bella, who happily explained what she'd been up since she left the hotel. She had taken on the name Angel had given her and added onto it. She now went by Belladonna Nightshade, and was ruling over quite a bit of territory.

Angel looked on with pride and disbelief as he listened to her. He remembered when she had been just a small puppy who'd wandered into his and Fat Nugget's hearts eight years ago. He'd have to pay Alastor back for his kindness some day, secretly of course.

Alastor smiled gently at the pair, ignoring his discomfort in favor of the warmth it brought him to see his friend happy. Despite the shrapnel in his abdomen and tranquilizer in his system, he'd have to say: it had been a pretty good night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby's all grown up and winning turf wars.
> 
> Thank you so so much everyone who has followed this fic of mine to the end! I did not intend for it to be as long as it was, like, at all. Thank you for all the kudos and lovely comments!
> 
> This is technically the last story chapter. The next page is full of sketches and drawings I also made over the course of writing this fic. I hope you'll take a look and enjoy!


	12. Extra Sketches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some extra drawings and concepts I made over the course of writing the story

Another version of Adult Bella:

* * *

Hellhound Aging:

0-8: Looks and mostly behaves like a normal, quadrapedal puppy

9-12: Forlegs lengthen first and front toes start to split and lengthen to be more finger-like

13-15: Fingers nearly fully formed, transformation from quadraped to biped, extremely clumsy, start to wear clothing 

16+: Mostly or fully grown, fingers have developed, confident on two legs, red scleras darken and markings solidify, clothed.

* * *

Sketches:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that's all folks!
> 
> So, thoughts, likes, dislikes, criticisms, general opinions?

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic, constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged.
> 
> Check out my tumblr blog: [The Sids Writes](https://thesids-writes.tumblr.com/)


End file.
